


Pure emptiness

by FernShaw



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Altered Mental States, Gen, Growing Up, Hurt/Comfort, Psychological Trauma, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:41:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24362227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FernShaw/pseuds/FernShaw
Summary: From their birthplace to the black egg temple, the Hollow knight had to be raised to be a perfect vessel. And so they will have to understand the world without emotions getting in the way
Relationships: Herrah the Beast & The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel, The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & Everyone, The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & Hornet, The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & The Pale King, The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & White Lady
Comments: 17
Kudos: 82





	1. Light

Climb, climb higher, higher to the light.  
Why shall they climb ? They had no idea. But each of their siblings were climbing towards the small amount of light they could see over the top, so there must be a good reason why. 

Small hands gripping spikes-covered rocks, trembling because of the pain and exhaustion. Sometimes, a small chirp and a loud breaking noise coming from the distant ground. If they were able to keep enough strength to climb higher, it was not the case for every sibling. Some of their bodies just ... Let go. And on the ground their shells met their end. But that wasn't going to happen to them. They shall climb towards the light because that was what they were supposed to do, and there shouldn't be any questions about it. 

The higher the small being got, the less siblings were seen besides him. Was it a good thing ? A bad thing ? The little one hadn't any concept near theses idea. It was just a fact. There was less of their siblings reaching towards the light, but they were still climbing.  
The light kept getting closer and closer with the pain on their small fingers raising exponentially.  
One final grab and they saw two blindingly pale figures waiting. They were the light all of their siblings were seeking. 

They reached the top with a last movement, and stayed on the ground to restore their breath, watching the two beings examinating one of their siblings.  
The small being was very similar to them, more than he imagined in the dark. A black substance was leaking out from the holes of their shells, forcing them to bent itself to stay on their feet. 

The smaller of the pale beings was keeping their head between its hands to examine ... Something. After a while, the pale beings let the little one go, still staring at each and every one of its movements. After looking at the bigger pale being, they started to approach them and rubbed their shell against her body. The pale lady slowly started to rub her head against theirs.

The moment was interrupted by the small pale being grabbing one of the horns of the sibling and violently shoving it back onto the abyss. A few seconds later, a loud crack was hear, and the silence came back. 

"My dear worm..."

"No cost too great. It is a sacrifice we shall make." 

Their looks turned towards the other small being who watched the scene without making any sounds. They got up, trembling of tiredness and walked towards them.  
They were scared, and lost. What should they do ? What was bad ? Was there a bad way to react ? Were they going back to the dark place ?  
They didn't want the dark place. That was what made them climb.  
So they stood there and waited. And did nothing.  
The pale being observed him, tried to make him react but there was nothing. Because the reaction might be bad, they should not react. 

"Do you think ...?"

"It is perfect. A perfect Hollow being. It shall be the one."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pale king be like : this bitch not empty. YEET


	2. Future

Everything was pale, a pure white that made they eyes hurt.   
They didn't felt lost nor confused, but rather guilty. If this place called palace was their home, wasn't it the home of the other siblings ? Was it because they reacted ? Because they were bad ? Was wanting anything bad ? They felt at their place, yet would have liked to see their siblings once more. What were they going to do in the dark place ? There was no light anymore. They wouldn't climb anymore. Would they just stay with the egg shells ? There were a lot of eggs. And a lot of siblings. The eggs were nice but the light was more important, right ?

The little vessel's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of walking. They looked at the door of their room. It was the source of light, with the spiky head. 

"Vessel. Come here."

The little being slowly walked towards the light. 

"From now on, you shall train with the knights of the palace. You, a perfect Hollow being, shall be trained to be a knight. You will obey any orders without thinking, and will be perfected in your training skills. Understood ?"

The child nodded. That was their name. The hollow knight. They were told about it the day they left their siblings. It shouldn't think. It shouldn't speak. It shouldn't react. Everything was bad, so they shouldn't do it. It should only follow orders. 

They got up and followed the crowned head towards a garden in the palace. Gardens were nice. They were a little less bright and a lot more colorful than the rest of the palace. But the vessel shouldn't think about it, because thinking was bad. And so it was just a fact that he was appreciating the garden. 

In the garden was a very pretty girl standing next to thorns bushes. A graceful lady covered in pure white armor, holding a nail between her claws. She approached slowly the vessel, putting the nail she holded between their hands. The vessel was lost. They never hold anything like that before. They never really holded anything before. They just stared at the bright shiny metal, waiting for any kind of orders. 

"Remember, Dryya. Do not be gentle. They need training, not any kind of interpersonal relationship."

"Understood, your majesty." 

The king got out of the garden, leaving the two of them alone for ... What they were supposed to do. The vessel barely understood what was going on before they were shoved onto ground by a quick attack. 

"See little Vessel ? A moment of inattention may be costing you your life. Always focus on what could be danger. From now on, you will focus on using what you are holding to defend yourself from any foe."

The vessel didn't quite understood what he was supposed to do with the nail, but he did catch her second attack coming. By a quick association of ideas, they pointed the weapon towards the attack, hoping it would be enough to stop her. It clearly wouldn't have been enough in a real battle, yet the warrior was impressed by their reactivity. 

"You have great potential, I do see that. Yet you will have to learn to be a lot more aggressive in battles. Maybe that start was too harsh. Shall we start again with a little more basic training?"

The vessel nodded once again. They had no other way of communication. Yet they felt that this was wrong. Because communication meant that they had their own mind to think and that was something bad. So they tried to use it as little as possible. 

"Let's do our best, little one !"

... That was not a encouragement for the little knight.   
It was their future way of being.   
And so shall be it.


	3. Teacher

The vessel had grown. Their behaviors were near perfection itself, yet it couldn't be perfect for now. Which was a clear problem because they were supposed to be perfect. And because the king couldn't allow it, they decided to bring their most valued scientist to the palace to find a solution. 

Monomon surely was a really impressive person. Her intelligence was really something most of the kingdom had heard of. But the fact that she weared a mask was something that almost none expected. People wearing masks were born mindless. Thinking that such a genius was born mindless was almost impossible to imagine for the bourgeoisie, and even less for the servitors living in the palace. 

Monomon herself never cared about the comments about her status. She was rather selfless, working mostly to get others a better life. And so, helping the king's plan to save the kingdom of the infection was her priority. 

That day, she and her assistant arrived in the royal medical room of the palace. It was an oppressive area that she would have preferred to avoid. The place clearly wasn't exempt from cruelty. Broken shell shards were found here and there on the floor. A little jar of pure void was laying on the shelf. Little shiny instruments were hanging on every wall, giving a very disturbing feeling. Everything looked like it was never properly cleaned before, not that it was weird since only the royal family and a handful of doctors were in the room. Monomon's assistant grabbed one of her tentacles when entering the place, clearly disturbed by the atmosphere. He only let go of it once a bright light shone in a corner of the room. The king had arrived, followed by a small bug wearing a large cloak. 

"Thank you for answering to my call, Monomon."

The little bug didn't move an inch once the king started talking. It felt lifeless. No normal child should be so calm, even royalty. 

"Please explain the problem, your highness."

"The vessel. It seems to be slightly imperfect in some ways. I need you to fix it."

I normal circumstances, Monomon would have immediately explained that you cannot "fix" a person. The thought of it was clearly horrible for her, yet it was her duty. She looked at the small bug who still hadn't move since the beginning of the talk. She gently asked them to sit down one or the chairs of the room, starting to look at things that she could somehow "improve". The child wasn't giving any kind of responses to auditory or touch stimulus. It felt like a doll, something that she could manipulate so easily, yet alive ... It was unpleasant to witness. 

"Everything looks fine for now. I'll try using a little more advanced methods."

Monomon took a shiny little hammer from one of the walls. Pale ore was practical to create light metal objects, yet using it against a muscle was certainly going to hurt a bit. She poked it gently against one of the vessel's knees immediately got them to raise their legs. 

"Is it-"

"Do not worry, your majesty. This is a muscle reaction. It is a reaction that is even common after death, it is not linked to a mind."

Yet ... Something was still bothering her. Monomon used the little hammer once more, only to witness a little shake of fear before touching the vessel's body. 

"They do feel fear. It is again a normal reaction yet it requires a mind to think about the consequences of an action."

"Then, we shall teach them to not feel fear. They are supposed to be completely hollow. It shall not have emotions developing."

Monomon sighed and nodded.

"I shall notice you if any other characteristics that you want to avoid show up."

"Thank you Monomon."

The king slowly walked away, watched by a desperate teacher and her student. 

"How are they going to remove fear from them, Monomon ?"

"I do not think it is possible. Trying to erase fear itself will probably result to the vessel hiding their feelings in fear that they'll be doing something that they aren't supposed to do. This is ... A complete mess."

The Vessel stared at the ground. It wasn't mindless, rather trying to look mindless. 

"Poor child. It probably would have been better if they were born completely Hollow."


	4. Knights

The vessel was always fascinated by the knights. Not because they liked them, no. That would have required emotions. And the Vessel had to get rid of their emotions. For them, it was more absorbing as much informations about the world as they could. They couldn't feel emotions themselves, so they had to learn how it made people act. 

They never understood how people reacted to Hegemol. Hegemol was talking a lot. All the time. He was always telling weird things that made no sense and then people would just breathe a lot, say "hahaha" but with a very weird way like they were not thinking of what they were doing, and also smile a lot. The vessel never understood smile. Hegemol said that smiles were telling people were happy with each other. The king said that he was happy that they were doing great, yet he never smiled towards anyone.  
So the vessel never truly understood what Hegemol meant. 

Dryya was often training. Training was good, but she strangely never aimed for perfect things. Perfect was good, so why wasn't she perfect ? The vessel never asked because asking was bad. It meant that you were curious, and curious was a feeling so it was bad. Yet the vessel wanted to know. She was often training with the White Lady to show her her strength. The white lady was a very big tree with a face that lived in the palace. The king often described her as his "wife". Again, the vessel never understood what did that meant but it did felt like she was someone important. She always looked at Dryya with a smile on her face. But she never smiled at the vessel. Because she never looked directly at them. And each time the vessel entered the room, she closed her eyes. It was hard to tell what she was doing all day, but even more with that. Not that the vessel cared anyway. 

The knights the vessel watched the most were Isma and Ogrim. It was very weird. They were always together but not like the rest of the knights. Even when the group wasn't together they were near each other.  
They were always touching each other, not like the rest of the group. It was a hand holding another hand. Them getting their arms around each other. A hand put on a shoulder. It felt useless. There was no use to touching another person like that. But ... The vessel wanted to try. They would have liked to see what it did to have someone in their arms. Did it felt something special ? Maybe it was a way of sharing a link between them ? Either way, the contact seemed to be something pleasant to others. 

That's why the vessel looked so much at them. They wanted to understand the purpose of their action. Because every action had a purpose, right ? That was what their father taught them. Do not act unless you need to do something that will be useful. 

Ogrim and Isma had noticed the vessel's interested in them. Very often they saw them starring from afar with their usual hollow face. No expression. No emotions. It was disturbing to see such a small child being so distant with everything, yet the couple were aware that this was meant to be, and they shall stay this way. 

Ogrim was the type of showing affection with all of his friends very, very often. He seemed like a tough guy yet was one of the most gentle knights of the palace. And even before knowing all of that, the vessel never showed any kind of fear seeing the beetle. They simply stared at him like they did with every other person they've met. It was impressive but also terrifying. This creature had apparently no notion about fearing others. Their competence in battle was equal or even superior to the entire court. And yet, with of this knowledge, they had no concept of love and affection. 

And so, just like any other day, the vessel was looking at the couple in a corner of the garden. They certainly were not peeping : they had no care about being seen. They were just there, with no particular intention except to understand better the couple's actions. Like always, Isma was talking about her training through her grove while staying on Ogrim's lap. It was a small ritual they had for quite a while now, since staying in the gardens with some company helped drastically Isma to stay calm throughout the day. She wasn't particularly stressed by her palace life, yet she was a lot more confortable surrounded by plants. Ogrim was just happy staying with her, just happy to see her smile. 

For the first time in forever, the vessel decided to actually go and stay in front of the couple, starring at them while sitting on the ground. After a bit of talking, Isma finally stopped to look at the little bug. She never knew how to act with them. She always felt horrible seeing a hatchling never given any kind of affection. And having to watch them trying to understand was heartbreaking. 

"Ogrim ... We're doing this for the greater good, aren't we ?"

"... Yes dear."

"It feels ... It feels so wrong... They don't deserve this."

Ogrim slowly patted Isma's shoulder and looked at the vessel with her.

The vessel tilted their head. Slowly looking at their hand, and putting it on their shoulder, doing the same movement as Ogrim did.  
Pat pat.  
It didn't felt special. It just felt like a hand on their shoulder. 

Ogrim slowly clenched his claws, looked at Isma then stared at the vessel.

"... I'm sorry, little guy."

The vessel never understood what theses words meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sad this fic won't get more attention but y'know what ? I will finish it just because I like to make people wait for my other fics


	5. Affection

That day, everyone in the palace was discussing about someone that seemed very, very important in the court. "Herrah" was apparently someone important enough to be asked for decision meetings with the king himself, despite her not living in the white palace. The Hollow knight had hear about this person in the past, but of course was not interested about them. After all, the Hollow knight wasn't able to be interested in anything. 

In the middle of the afternoon, a large creature showed up in the gardens. They were very different than everything the Knight had ever met before. Three pairs of limbs. A dark blue-ish body. Two big horns hidden behind a piece of clothing that didn't even covered the lower parts of their body. And finally a mask, sign of a body born without a mind. The vessel stood next to a door near the entrance of the garden to observe the creature, with the idea of getting more informations on the newly found beast. 

"Hollow."

The knight was surprised but had learned not to show it. No reaction on their body, no emotion shown. They simply turned their head to see the King standing behind them. 

"This is Queen Herrah. She is here to discuss with me about your mission and future. She is actually in possession of a child that would need to be watched for the time of our meeting. You shall take this being under your protection."

The knight was given a short time after that a very small being to hold in his arms. It was a very confusing thing. The little creature did not speak but only chirped. It felt very weak yet not afraid of anything, slowly opening their eyes to stare at the vessel. The king at told them about children before. They were supposed to be small version of people that were still learning how to act in the world. It was very weird for the knight to imagine someone not knowing their purpose. Why were some people capable of working and others not ? That was a mystery. 

They brought the baby into their room, sitting on their bed not to make mistakes and possibly hurt them. Children were apparently were fragile. It was hard to understand why would anyone keep one. They couldn't fill simple tasks, nor think properly, nor talk. They were most likely useless. Still, it was the knight's duty to take care of the being and they shall fulfill it.

The two creatures stared at each other for a pretty long time. One was observing to understand, the other to occupy their mind. The small being suddenly grabbed the vessel's finger as they were touching them, giggling at their act. Their rubbed their shell onto the hand, purring and smiling with the little dose of affection they were spreading. The knight started to freak out. 

A very weird sensation filled their body, a sensation they never felt before. They slowly touched the little being's shell, and felt the same thing again. The little beast slowly putt their limbs around the knight's arm, laughing. Slowly taking the being back in their hands. The sensation was really, really weird. Did they felt the same thing ? Didn't it felt weird for them too ?

The beast slowly wandered in the corridors. She hated this place. She hated the white palace. The pale king was cruel, the white lady didn't take any responsibilities in seeing her spawn treated like a weapon, and the court was just made of mindless bugs simply following blindly a leader making up things to look like a good person. She wasn't entirely sure of her decision of letting her little hatchling in the ends of the mindless body yet she had no choice. It was still a better decision to her than letting it in the hands of the roots. 

After finally finding out the vessel's room, she slowly entered the place to be greeted by a surprising scene. The knight was on their bed, slowly raising their arms up and down around her child, making her laugh quite a lot. The movements were strange, almost robotic. But it looked like a sincere attempt to interact in a positive way with another being. Her child chirped. They answered with a hand rubbing their shell. The child smiled. The knight let out a little chirp before realizing the beast was now in the room and forcefully bent their body down to stop producing any type of sound. 

"You ... You do have a voice."

The vessel vigorously shook their head. No. No no no. They didn't have a voice. A voice meant to be imperfect. They had to be perfect, they were perfect. If they weren't, father, no, the king would be very disappointed. They couldn't risk to disappoint their father. Or else, father would be very not happy and will throw them back in the dark place with their siblings. It was very black back there. It very scary. No, not scary, scary was for people with mind. It was, it was ... 

"My poor, poor child."

The vessel felt something slowly gripping their shoulders and was brought against the beast's body. It felt ... Something. Was this good ? Was this happy ? Was it right to be happy ? They weren't sure. But they didn't want the action to stop. They started trembling, feeling something something slowly rolling down their shell. Tears of void started leaking around their face, covering the body of the beast with deep black stripes. They wanted to stop but simply couldn't. 

"Shhh... Here. You are safe with me. See ? I'm not mad at you. Your feelings, even of you hide them, you can't simply erase them. I know it's hard."

The vessel was shaking heavily, trembling because if everything they were not supposed to do nor think. The beast didn't know. She couldn't know how hard life was. But again, she wasn't empty. It probably would have been better if the vessel was empty. 

After finally slowly calming themselves down, the knight took a moment to observe the little creature in red robes. The little being slowly raised their claws and gently grabbed one of the knight's fingers. 

"It's a shame to see such a good creature born of a father that isn't capable of appreciating them. You weren't born hollow. You can't simply become it."

The vessel slowly looked at the ground. 

"I'm not sure about how much help can I be but if you need it again, please. Take your time. Being mad about yourself will only break you even more."

The knight slowly took their finger off the giggling creature's hand and pressed their shell onto the beast's body, rubbing it while slowly closing their eyes. 

Good.  
This was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do uuuh I didn't use any gendered pronouns for Hornet here because I thought about how spiders's genders can be seen and it usually takes a few molts to see it so yeah.


	6. Mistake

Herrah rarely asked to speak with the king himself. She demanded an alliance, and even if the cost of it was pretty high, they never had any trouble on getting on plans about the alliance. Their discussions usually lasted a few minutes if not less, and mainly consisted to ask about the quantity of supplies needed by each kingdom. Simple. Easy. 

But not this time. 

Herrah had asked for this appointment to be done as soon as possible. It was kind of unexpected but deepnest was never truly out of any kind of risk of beasts attacking and changements could be needed. So the pale king accepted her demands. 

As always, they went to the king's private departments. A gigantic room, deep under the white palace, guarded by a multitude of kingsmoulds. A perfect place not to be heard by anyone. 

"Now that we are alone, can you tell me what is wrong, Herrah ? You didn't mention anything about the problem. I do not see it as incompetence but rather as an intentional will of yours."

"This is about the Pure Vessel."

"The Hollow Knight, yes ! I get that you may not understand the details of the ceremony and the sealing. I do thankfully have a plan on a near archive, we shall-"

"They're not Hollow."

A silence broke the room in half. The king backed down. Herrah didn't move by an inch.

" It is. The Hollow knight. It is a perfect being that has no flaws, and you should know that more than anyone, Queen Herrah."

"I saw them outside of your look. They're not Hollow. They're simply conditioned to think that they are. They are craving for attention and affection yet they do not let it show for a reason. The logic thing to think for me to think is that they simply want to impress their genitor. Yet I know that there is more than this. Answer me Pale King. They are not Hollow. How can you even think that this plan will work if you have this idea in mind."

"It is Hollow. It is a perfectly empty being, with no mind to think, no voice to cry and no will to break. It shall succeed. There is nothing more Hollow on this grounds that my creation."

"It is pitiful how you hide your obvious failure by calling them perfect and even describing the poor thing as an object."

"It is nothing more than an object. It is a mechanism. A simple tool. The old light is coming, Herrah. You can't deny it. If it is not to be used as a tool, there will be no survivors. The machine is already in place. You cannot back down at a moment like this one, Herrah."

"I shall take part in your plan, Pale King. I'm not the type to change my mind after a deal this important had been put in place. Yet, I do warn you. If the plan needs them to be as Hollow as you want to think they are, you will fail. Miserably. And my only regret will be not to be able to witness your fall, Wyrm."

"Get. Out." 

The Spider got out of the room.   
The Wyrm sighed on his throne   
The vessel shivered in their empty room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want a good mom Herrah who protecc ...


	7. Chapter 7

That was it. That was the day. That was Hollow's fate, after all. They were going to be used and learned it at the very beginning. They would have probably felt something if they'd learned to. Fear ? Sadness ? Maybe pain ? In either way, that was the end. Meeting all three dreamers. Making sure they were alright and ready for the seals. Then go at the back egg temple. And end it all for the beginning of eternal waiting. 

The last dreamer the knight visited was Herrah. There was no real choice behind this order. She just happened to be farther than the others to the city of tears. Deepnest was an unusual place. Not calm at all. Very strange for sleeping. The vessel learned that most people needed silence for this task. They didn't know, because they barely slept. 

Herrah was ... Well, Herrah. The very gentle person the knight had met before. If they had feelings towards people, she would have probably been one of their favorite people. They listened to her almost last words, making sure that she was indeed ready for the ceremony. Everything was alright. It could be started. Soon. 

"Hollow. I know this is a very hard task you've been asked to succeed. I never spoke of your secret in a way that could affect you, yet I can't help to think that I should have. Still, this is too late. All I can do is wish you good luck in the completion of the task, I will assist you gladly as a seal for you to be protected eternally."

That's not what Herrah wanted to say. She hated every single part of this plan and knew that the vessel would have been better running away, far far away. But despite the fact they seeked affection, they never seemed to have any kind of other feelings. So being safe, sane or even taking care of himself were probably too complicated to teach them. In the end, the completion of the plan was too close. In any minute now, everything will end, for both of them. Herrah was not scared of death, nor eternal slumber. She feared mainly for others. And what she had in mind more than the vessel was...

A little red creature grabbed the cloak of the vessel.

"Sibling ! Sibling ! Are you going to sleep just like mama ?"

The vessel slowly nodded, bending themselves to be closer to her height.

"Owh... I'm sad to say goodbye to you too. I'm sad to see everyone going to sleep. But I'm happy that you spent time with me ! I really am happy ! And, errrh ... Even if you sleep forever I really hope I will be in your dreams to help you fight the bad nightmares ! Yes !"

The vessel slowly pet the spider's head. It was kind of ironic to see a supposedly Hollow being making such a positive impact on others. The little being answered with a love-filled hug, and slowly waved goodbye as the knight walked away. 

The time they spent on the stag they took felt horribly long. They weren't afraid. They weren't sad. But that was the one thing they were made for. And trying to understand if they were good enough for it was difficult, in a sense. There was no possible way to compare themselves. Maybe to the siblings. But the siblings were no more. They were in the abyss. And no one talked about the abyss. So they should care. 

Arriving in front of the egg, they noticed a small crowd. They weren't taught about what was going to happen inside. Just that something will happen. 

"Pure vessel. You shall now complete your duty. With the power that I shall use to seal once and for all the sacred beast that forced the now freed people to bow over a hive mind. As you enter this prison you shall now succeed in your reason of being."

The pure vessel wanted to take deep breath. But they couldn't. That would make them impure. 

It was the end   
There was no coming back


	8. End

Hornet had no idea how long she had waited outside the temple. But she learned to be patient. After all she had protected Hallownest and the king's brand for years, she shouldn't care about spending sometimes in a much less threatening environment. 

She took a bit of time to polish her needle, humming an old thune her mother taught her. It was hard to get of her mind that she had to end the life of one of her siblings. She saw some of their lifeless bodies around the kingdom but never had to end one of them by her own hands. 

Hornet started to feel something in the air. She shivered, sneezed and looked around. The atmosphere suddenly felt a lot warmer. She looked around and noticed that every single bit of the infection around the black egg started to turn a pure black, rotting and melting into some kind of void tendrils before disapearing.

Suddenly, something began to make the ground shake behind her. Something definitely big and powerful. She quickly grabbed her needle and prepared for any kind of fight, quickly trying to understand what was in front of her.   
It was a thin and pretty tall silhouette accompanied by a giant nail, apparently missing a limb. It approached her, trowing its nail into the ground, cracking it without any difficulties. Hornet prepared herself to attack yet something bothered her. That big terrifying creature was trembling. Its whole body seemed to barely stand onto weak legs, but still ready to fight. And something ... Something about them reminded Hornet a sweet feeling. 

She took the risk to gaze for a second at the temple to realize something that wouldn't have been imaginable : the door was open. Nothing left to retain the Radiance, nothing to keep the infection, no, nothing to-

"H-hollow ?"

The creature growled and shivered, and quickly got they only hand to their mouth to try to hide the sound they caused. They grabbed their nail and prepared to attack before being stopped by a desperate sound.

"Hollow, calm down ! It's me, it's Hornet !" 

The creature stopped before looking around silently, seemingly trying to understand what was going on. They were lost. So lost. So tired. Nothing on them seemed to show signs of the infection. No orange goo falling from different body part, no mindless actions of pure rage and no glowing orange eyes. The only things that changed on their body from before the ceremony was a big crack on their shell and the loss of an arm. 

"Are you ... Alright ? Y-you like kind of lost. Well, I mean, there is a reason behind that fact but huuuh ... You're ... I'm ... Tch, It's hard to speak, you probably were the last thing I expected to see today. Now apparently the infection just somehow disapeared and you're here and ... Gosh, what happened ? No, it doesn't matter for now. Focus, Hornet. Good. Let's get back to the first question, are you alright ?"

The vessel looked at Hornet and made a small chirp, immediately followed by two hands put on their mask. They chirped. They had a voice. No. They had to be perfect. It's because they were not perfect that she took the control. She took the control ? What happened ? Everything hurt. Everything was confusing. That was their fault. Everything was because of them. 

"It's okay. You can talk."

The knight flinched and stared at the spider. They weren't supposed to talk. But they were ordered to talk. What shall they do ? Were they even allowed to think about that question anymore ? 

"You do not need to be Hollow anymore. Do not force yourself anymore. I think it's ... Yeah. It's over. Look around. The infection is somehow ... Gone. I don't know how but ... It's gone. You're free. Just ... Be what you want to be. Not what I order you to. And do not take this as an order, that ... That would be pretty confusing." 

The vessel tilted their head. Over ? What was over ? They were supposed to be hollow forever. Was forever over ? They whined. It felt confusing, but reassuring. They didn't even know they could make that sort of sound. But they liked it. They liked it because they weren't Hollow. Just liked Herrah said. They knew how to like. 

"Are you feeling alright ? You have the right to say no. Or hell, you don't even need to answer if you don't want it."

The vessel shook their head. No. They weren't feeling anything close to alright. How much time had they spent trapped with the Radiance ? It felt like an eternity. It haunted them. They couldn't just erase such memory. So they weren't feeling good. 

"I see ... It's alright. You have the right to feel like that. Do you need anything ? Have an idea of what could make you feel better ?"

They vessel thought. They never were allowed to feel better. So what could make them feel better ? 

And then they remembered.

They slowly opened up their arms and looked at Hornet. The spider felt confused, and tried to understand what was happening, but slowly approached the knight. She walked, walked until she was right in front of them. And slowly, they wrapped their arms around the spider. Hornet took a few seconds to understand the situation but quickly understood what was the meaning of it. This was a hug. The same kind of hugs her mother gave. 

Both started trembling, tears falling down their cheeks. 

This was the end of hell. 

It was time to feel better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me ?? Actually finishing a fic ? Pfff nah that's a myth.  
> Welp, in the end I hope you all enjoyed ! This was a fic I wrote mainly because I had a few ideas on how THK would feel throughout their childhood and felt like I should try for once to not just make a bunch of one shots but an actual story.   
> Thank you very much for reading it until the end <3

**Author's Note:**

> Pale king be like : this bitch not empty. YEET


End file.
